Territory



' V(Nomoaelf) A g BB. SKINNER.

-A ELECTRIC BRAKE.

UNITED STATES' l "PATENT OFFICE.

'ERNEST BEARDsLEY sKINNER, or oGDEN, UTAH TERRITORY;

ELECTRICtBRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.` 508,851, dated Alovemloerr 14, 1893.

A Application filed January 21, 1893. Serial No. 459,248. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom itimafpvconccr'ns. i l

Be it known 'that L'ERNEs'r .BEARDSLEYI SKlNNER, acitizen of the United States, residlng at Ogden city, in the county of Webera-nd the Territory of Utah,lhaveV inventedfa new yand useful Electric Brake, ot' which the following is a specification.

My invention relates toimprovements in electric brakes and consists in' the novel construction thereof, and the objects of my improvements are: first, to provide the facilities to obviate the necessitv of utilizing the electric current to hold the brake rigidly in place after setting; second, to increase the power and efficiency of the electric coils by provid. ing a complete magnetic circuit; third,to provide an electric brake that may be connected, and operate in conjunction with the ordinary hand-brake, without interfering with ythe hand brake, both being applied and adapted to operate the same set of shoes. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Y which are referred to and are made a part of this specilica- Vtion, and in whichvFigure 1 is a longitudinal section of the brake, embodying my improvements. Fig. 2. is a plan view, showing the method of connecting the brake to the rods; and Fig. 3. is a diagram of the wire connections.

. Similar letters and figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

InV Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, C. represents a solenoid, or coil of wire wound on a brass or copper tube, M., and insulated electrically therefrom, andinclosed by the iron tube, t. The iron head, F., forms a support for one'end of the tubes, M. and t, and also -a guide for the iron plunger, B. F. supports the other ends of the tubes, M. and t. and also the coil j. y

B. is a plunger, made of iron, with a slot, N., cut in the end.

A. is the end of the lever, connecting with the brake rods, and is free to move forward and back in the slot, N.

L. isf a lever, working Von a fulcrum I., against the shoe, S.

S. is a shoe, made of -wood, or other suitable material, which is pressed against the plunger B., by the-lever, L., andthe spring, R., .thus forming a clutch ou the plunger,'B., and normally holding plunger B., rigidly in place.

l D. is a spring which acts against the pluuv ger,fB. 1 I

j. is a coil ot' wire or solenoid,having iron heads, u, and inclosed by an iron tubeO, the same as coil, C., and is termed'the release coil, as its function is to release the brake.

P. is an iron plunger for coil, j, and is'connected to the lever, L. f

R. is the clutch spring, coiled around the plunger, P., and -acts normally against ithe plunger, B., throughthe agencyof the lever,

L., fulcrum, I., and shoe, S. E. indicates the timber in the car frame, Whichvsupports the brake.V

G. is a passage, leading into the y.endof the tube, M., through the 'iron head, F. v

. H. is a check valve, -so constructed thatfit will let the air in tube,`M., pass freely out, and can control the amount let in.

t. and O. are iron tubes, inclosing coils, C. and j. and provide magnetic paths for the lines of magnetic force to return, afterpassing through plungers, B. and P. and coilC.

2 is aplan view of the trucks of a railwaycar, showing themethods of connecting the brake, by means of levers connecting with the brake shoes, which may be so arranged as to be pressed against the Wheels or the rail.

W and B, (Fig. 2,) indicate the brake and the plunger connected to the lever, A., which connects with the brake grods.

Fig. 3 is a diagram, showing the arrangement of the wire connections to the coils, C.

and j., in which y. represents the ydynamo, or

source of electricity; (land j. the; electric coils; 1, thew'ire leading from the source of electricity to the switches, 5 and 6, both of which connect with wire 1; 2, the wire leading from switch 5 to coil j, in whichplunger, P. operates; 3, thewire leadingfromswitch connect with the trolley, and wire 4 forms a return circuit for both coils. Both switches,

5 and 6, may be so constructed as to be con.

trolled by one lever, or there may be a separate lever for each switch.

The action of the brake is as follows: IVhen the electric current is not applied to either coil, C. and j., the spring R. presses against the end of the lever, L., thus forcing the shoe, S. rmly against the plunger, B, holding plunger, B., rigidly in whatever position it should happen to be. The length of the lever,L., and the tension of the spring, R., are so regulated as to make the work of holding the plunger B., firmly in place, when the electric current is shut offfrom coil j. positive and effective. If a current of electricity be passed through the coil, j., the iron plunger, P. will vbe drawn up into the coil, j., against the tension of the spring, R., and the weight of the plunger, P., according to the well known law of the attraction of a solenoid for an iron bar, when the Asolenoid is excited by acurrent of electricity. This movement of the plunger,

P., acting Vupon the lever, 1L. causes the shoe, S., to rdrop away from the plunger, B.,thus

leaving plunger, B., free to move into .or out.

of the tube, M. Then, if a current of electricity is sent through the coil, C., the plunger, B., will be `drawn into the tube, M. (the same principle being applied as that already referred to in regard to plunger, P., and coil,

carrying with it the end of the brake lever, 1-

A., With a strength limitedonly by the amount of the current sent through the coil, C., thus setti-ng the brake.

To set the brake, ,the electric current is first sent through the release coil j., by a suitable a switch, Afor .the purpose of allowing the plunger, B., to act freely by releasing it from the 1 pressure .of the shoe, S. Then the current is applied to the coil, C., setting the brake .as indicated, the plunger B., moving forward yinto the tube, M., in response'to the action `of `the electr-ic current, and Acarrying with it the bra-ke rods which connect with the shoes, applied tothe wheels or rails. Then the .electric current is stopped from passing through the .release coil, j, when the plunger B., will be held rigidly in position by means of the spring, R. and shoe, S. Then the current may be stopped from passing through the brake coil, C., and the pressure of the shoe,

S., against ,the plunger B., will hold the brake set. 'To release the brake, the .current is passed through the release coil, thereby relieving plunger, B.,` from the pressure of the shoe, S., which will be pushed out by the.

spring, D., thereby acting upon the brake rods, and causing the shoes to drop away from the wheels. It will be seen that to set the brake, the electric current need only be used momentarily, or long enough to apply the shoe, S., tothe plunger, B., by means of the plunger, P. This, Iclaim is a great economy, insomuch as there-is not now in existence any electric brake, to my knowledge, that does not require the application of the electric current continuously, while the brake is set. The iron heads, F. and F', and the tubes t. and O., are provided to form a complete magnetic circuit, composed of iron. Actual experiment has `shown that -the combination in an electric brake of the complete magnetic circuit referred to, materially increases the power and efficiency of the coils.

I am aware that solenoids, With complete magnetic circuits, have been .used in combination with electric drills, advantageously, but I believe lthe application of complete magnetic circuits, composed of iron, for the purpose indicated, by meansof the iron heads., F. and F', Vand the tubes, t. and 2O., is Aa novel combination in electric brakes, that .ai-S new with me. To guard against sudden .action or jar when the :brake is released ,by means of the coil, j., acting upon shoe,;S., the air valve, I-I., is provided. Plunger B.,';-ts;air tight in the tube, M., bybeing `provided with-a Ysuitable Vpacking ring, 7c. As the brakeis-Setfthe plunger moves forward `into the tube, M.and the air in the tube, M., will be forced out through the passage, .,Gr.,` and val-yall. When the plunger, B., is released, it will be held back against the action of thefspring, Dsufficiently to prevent jar by the :part-ail Naot-,1- um formed, as the plunge-r 113 is'pushedlout The vacuum is lcontrolled. by the valve, H., by allowing Amore or less air rto reenter.

The electric brake switches used be so constructed .as to becontrolled by oncle- Ver, 4or there may be a separate switch for each coil. The spring, R., leyer, L. ,and fulcrum I., adapted to press theshoe, ;S. against plunger, B., may bel lused -to hold ithe brake rigidly in position after setting, in connection with any `electric brake, Without depatb ing from my invention. The hand brakes may be yconnected with lever, A. also, and in case the hand brakes, are used, the 611111 of lever, A., will slide in the slot, N., ,thus not interfering with the-,electric brake.` Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1S l l. The withindescribed .electric brake, ,composed of solenoids, or wire coils C. and y., in which the plungers, P. and B. moveforward or back, in response to the action of the ,electric current, and the springs, D. and R., :and having metallic heads, F. and Fv, and tubes, t. and O. to form a complete magnetic circuit; and having passage G., check valve, H., springs D. and R., and lever, L., acting upon taler-um, I, against shoe, S., all substantially as setgforth for the purpose specified.

2. In an electric brake, the combination of the solenoid j., having iron heads, 11..,and tube, O., in which plunger, P., moves forward and back in response ,to the actionof :the electric current, and the spring, R.,with the spring TOO R., lever L'., fulcrum,I., and shoe,'S.,- adapted the brake is set and without any assistance' to release the brake, after setting, all substan-V from the electric current, all substantially as ro tiagllyvas specified, and for the purpose stated. and for the purpose stated.

.s ith an electric brake the combination T 'f 5 of 'a friction block, or shoe S, acting against EREST BEARDbLEY SKINDER' a. plunger B, through the agency of a spring Witnesses: Y R, lever L, and fulcrum I, for thepurpo'se of S; R. SKOLF'IELD, holding the plunger B, rmly in place after4 P. C. EWING. 

